Let’s face the fact – jobs are getting scarce while job seekers are getting plentiful. To make matter worse, robots are competing with human for jobs. Soon, burger-flipping will be a job reserved for robot only. Heck, even prostitution would need to fight for their rights as sex robots, thanks to AI (artificial intelligence), are expected to take over the ancient jobs.

 

The radical solution is to hand out “free cash” to everyone – rich and poor – who work and who don’t. Called “basic income” or “universal basic income”, the concept of free money was used during the recent French presidential election where every French adult would get 750 Euros every month as monthly living allowance – no strings attached.

Finland is testing such concept. Switzerland had proposed a similar program last year but when put to vote, surprisingly, 77% of Swiss voters rejected the free money project. Now Facebook’s boss Mark Zuckerberg is trumpeting the same concept. The billionaire who has a net worth of US$62.7 billion (Forbes) shared his support in a post on Facebook on Fourth of July.

 

Zuckerberg apparently spent his holiday with his lovely wife Priscilla in Alaska, as he would normally do as part of the “Year of Travel Challenge”. He believes Alaska’s social safety net programs should be implemented to the rest of the country. Alaska has a state-wide version of universal basic income. Recipients must be Alaska residents for the entire calendar year, with no plans to leave the state.

Every year since 1982, law-abiding Alaskans have received a yearly check from the state’s Permanent Dividend Fund, a US$52-billion rainy day fund that’s largely made up of oil revenues the government saves in case oil someday becomes less lucrative. The fund was created in 1976 when as the Alaska pipeline construction neared completion.

 

Law-abiding residents would receive checks – typically US$1,000 to US$2,000 – from the state government. Although the amount might be considered too small to some people, it could be especially meaningful for a family of five or six. Recent research suggests that Alaskans see a lot of benefit from their dividends.

A survey from the Economic Security Project found that 81% of people said the cash-transfer program increases their quality of life and 90% agreed the money should go to everyone who is a full-time resident of Alaska. But Zuckerberg also pointed to a smaller dividend program involving what the state calls Native Corporations.

 

These corporations are owned and run by native Alaskans and sit on native land. Each year, the corporations pay a small dividend to their shareholders. Zuckerberg wrote – “So if you’re a Native Alaskan, you would get two dividends: one from your Native Corporation and one from the state Permanent Fund.”

Zuckerberg said – “This is a novel approach to basic income in a few ways. First, it’s funded by natural resources rather than raising taxes. Second, it comes from conservative principles of smaller government, rather than progressive principles of a larger safety net. This shows basic income is a bipartisan idea.”

 

Here’s why Zuckerberg thinks providing universal basic income is a jolly good idea – the way people think. He shared – “Seeing how Alaska put this dividend in place reminded me of a lesson I learned early at Facebook: organizations think profoundly differently when they’re profitable than when they’re in debt. When you’re losing money, your mentality is largely about survival.”

 

 

The billionaire further shared why free money is important – “But when you’re profitable, you’re confident about your future and you look for opportunities to invest and grow further. Alaska’s economy has historically created this winning mentality, which has led to this basic income. That may be a lesson for the rest of the country as well.”

 

Previously in his remarks at Harvard, Zuckerberg said having your basic needs met allows and encourages creativity and innovation. If he hadn’t been comfortable financially as a kid (his dad was a dentist), he admitted, then he might not have created Facebook. He said – “We should explore ideas like universal basic income to give everyone a cushion to try new things.”

“I know lots of people who haven’t pursued dreams because they didn’t have a cushion to fall back on if they failed. We all know we don’t succeed just by having a good idea or working hard. We succeed by being lucky too. If I had to support my family growing up instead of having time to code, if I didn’t know I’d be fine if Facebook didn’t work out, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

 

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Microsoft Is Retrenching “Thousands” – Worldwide – As Soon As This Week
• How Zuckerberg Stole WhatsApp While WeChat’s Boss Was Sick
• Welcome To The World Of Free Money … Every Month … For All
• These 8 Men Are As Rich As 3.6-Billion People, Or Half The World
• Globalism & Capitalism Not Working – 0.7% Rich Population Control US$116.6 Trillion
• Here’re 25 Highest Paying Jobs Currently On Offer In America For 2016
• 15 Successful, Rich and Famous People – Their Humble First Jobs
• Here’s Why You Should Change Job Every 2-Years

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July 6th, 2017 by financetwitter

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